Sensitive parenting and secure attachment can serve as protective factors against developmental risks associated with high-risk environments such as homelessness and shelter living. This article describes a program for mothers with children from birth to 3 years old whose families are living in shelters and who are enrolled in PACT: Helping…

This paper discusses current inclusive education policies and practices in Romania. There are few accounts of and no systematic study published on this topic. The Romanian special educational policies began to evolve towards integration and inclusion. Today, Romanian special education functions according to democratic principles and Romanian…

Confrontations between urban neighborhoods and activist organizations seeking affordable housing and shelter for the homeless are attracting the increased attention of academics and policy makers. Perceived as a problem to be resolved, and constituted as a "syndrome," the social phenomenon "not in my backyard" (NIMBY) is…

Street Life Soccer is a football project which was set up four years ago. It was the result of a workshop at a homeless hostel in Norwich, carried out by Blue Cat, a local company which develops engagement activities for learners traditionally considered "hard to reach". It was obvious that the one thing people desperately wanted was to…

This qualitative study involved 20 youth (18 males, 1 female, 1 transgender, ages 19-24) living in Vancouver, British Columbia, who reported 259 critical incidents of what helped or hindered their experiences as they tried to get off the street. What helped included (a) taking responsibility, (b) engaging in constructive activities, (c) friends…

Children in communities across Colorado--whether large or small, rural or urban, on the Eastern Plains or the Western Slope--face opportunities and obstacles to reaching their full potential. While some challenges are similar, many are very different depending on the community environment and the resources available to support children and…

Sections 9302 and 9303 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) provide to States the option of applying for and reporting on multiple ESEA programs through a single consolidated application and report. Although a central, practical purpose of the Consolidated State Application…

This study used data from a sample of 444 homeless adolescents to determine whether thoughts of death and suicide form one construct (unidimensionality) or two distinct but correlated constructs (multi-dimensionality). Thoughts of death and suicide were common in the sample; over two-thirds of the adolescents positively endorsed at least one of…

Young people seen as "at risk" are a substantial focus across a wide range of policy and practice fields in national and international contexts. This article addresses two of those fields, youth homelessness and young people failing to obtain a basic education that will give them access to employment and full community participation. By…

The prevalence of traumatic stress in the lives of families who are homeless is extraordinarily high. Often these families are headed by single mothers who have experienced ongoing trauma in the form of childhood abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and community violence, as well as the trauma associated with poverty and the loss of home,…

It is well known that the pathways to homelessness for young people are embedded in often ongoing negative childhood experiences. Many of these experiences are rooted in multiple and intersecting problems including, but not limited to: family conflict, abuse, addictions, and mental health issues. The authors draw upon qualitative interviews…

This paper describes the culture of experiential community based learning at Central College, a rural liberal arts college in Midwestern, USA. Pre-service teachers use experiential community based learning to reflect on their personal growth in understanding the needs of diverse learners. Reflections demonstrate how the program contributes to the…

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the relationship between past traumatic events and the level of current traumatic stress among mothers experiencing homelessness. The data for this study were gathered from 75 homeless mothers between May 2006 and October 2006 using a cross-sectional survey design with purposive sampling. All mothers…

Economic and demographic changes in rural areas continue to introduce big-city problems in small towns. These communities' ability and willingness to respond are likely to be influenced by the geography, culture, and array of organizations in rural places. But how these characteristics of rural places shape local response is hard to predict and as…

More than one million children are homeless in the United States, and more than half of those are age 6 or younger. As the recession continues, even more families are finding themselves homeless. Studies have shown that children of all ages thrive when they have a safe space in which to explore the world around them, filled with spaces for play…